God's plans are PERFECT

Notes on my UK holidays

God is so good to me and has reminded me that His plans are perfect. When I first set out to join choir #33 here in the UK I was planning on flying to South Africa with the choir when the tour was over. A few months ago it became apparent that God had different plans and I needed to wait a few weeks before going to S. Africa. I must admit I was somewhat frustrated and really wondered what God was doing. I should have known He just wanted to bless me. I have just spent 2 weeks having a mini vacation here in the UK and it was exactly what I needed. I spent a week in Scotland with Eleni (another chaperone) with a family that had hosted the choir back in June. They are a great family that have become huge fans of the choir and have really done a lot for ACC and specifically my Choir #33 kids. They live on a hill on a mountain and we had a beautiful snowy Christmas. Eleni and I had fun playing with the 2 girls and went sledding (or sledging as they call it) and built a snowman and an igloo. It was a blessing to me because it was exactly what I would have been doing if I was at home- hanging out with my sisters and their families. I learned that I don't really like Christmas Pudding (fruitcake with nuts with Brandy poured over it and lit on fire) and I LOVE Sticky Toffee Pudding. After Scotland my next destination was London. Eleni came with me to Edinburgh (where we had spent a month with the choir back in Aug.) before I traveled on to London. It was fun to spend part of the day there remembering all the fun I had there when I first joined Choir #33. My time in London has been great also. Considering I have spent the last 5 months traveling with 33 people I was really happy to be on my own at a little B&B. It was the perfect opportunity to “regroup” and “refocus” on life. My friend Adrian (who I met on a ACC trip to Uganda in 2006) lives here so it has been wonderful to catch up with him and also spend a fair amount of time with him and his friends. Adrian was brave enough to let me practice driving on the “wrong side” of the road in his new car. I didn't dent anything or kill anyone and I think Adrian is still my friend so I guess it was pretty successful. It is great to know I have even just the tiniest bit of driving experience before heading to South Africa where I will be driving right away. I was also blessed to be able to go to Adrian's church with his friends. Being on tour has taught me to never take church for granted. Typically on tour we are in church all the time but never just to be there, if you know what I mean. Plus you just can't go to church with 23 cute African kids and be “normal”. So it was wonderful to just enjoy worship and teaching without any strings attached. (and I think that this church is just about perfect because mid-service they pass around chocolate!) So today I am off on a new adventure to South Africa and I'm going to work hard at remembering that God's plans are perfect! Thanks everyone for your love, support and encouragement! Please keep it coming!